Lock Playback device for a given application?

[tomwitt]

I'm using Kubuntu 22.04 on a Dell P5510 laptop. For remote collaboration at work I use Teams and Slack. Occasionally, I have to interact with vendors via Zoom. All applications can be made to work with my audio devices, with some fiddling.

After restarting my laptop, I have to go into the volume controls and set the Playback device for all of these applications (From "USB Audio Headphones" to "Built-in Audio Analog Stereo"). At this point I can kill and restart Teams and the settings will stick (until the next reboot). For Slack and Zoom, I need to reset the Playback device for each restart of the application. And it's annoying as hell.

Is there a way to make the Playback device "stick" permanently for a given application?

[claydoh]

Are you having to go into each application's settings to do this? if not, you may need to do this on each one. All of these programs are sort of known for not following one's system preferences at least some of the time.
If you are setting things in each app, perhaps try dragging/dropping from the tray icon, and see if your preferences are saved that way, which is of course what is *supposed* to be happening when you do this from the systray.

I have no experience with Teams or Slack for audio, but Zoom iirc always remembered what audio device I set it to in-app, or I had set via drag-n-drop from the tray icon. I can't recall which now, as it has been a little bit since I have had to use any of these.

Hopefully others with more recent experience can chime in

[tomwitt]

Well... he says sheepishly... it hadn't even occurred to me that the applications would have their own device settings menus. Seems kinda obvious now that you've mentioned it and I've actually typed it out. I've been solving this particular problem by using Pulse Audio Volume control and making the adjustments there, thus establishing in my very limited mind that volume and device settings will be forever forward be managed by that particular hammer.

Thank you for your quick response.